Nov. 17, 2012
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - The 2012 Big Ten Champion and second-ranked Penn State women's volleyball team (27-2, 17-1 Big Ten) earned a 3-1 (25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21) victory against No. 21 Purdue Saturday night in Purdue's Mackey Arena.
Junior Ariel Scott (Ridgewood, N.J.) posted 18 kills and junior Deja McClendon (Louisville, Ky.) recorded 13. Sophomore Micha Hancock (Edmond, Okla.) paced the offense with 38 assists. McClendon led the Lions with nine digs, while both sophomore Dominique Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) and freshman Megan Courtney (Dayton, Ohio) had eight. Junior Katie Slay (Raleigh, N.C.) had a team-best three blocks.
Penn State registered a .317 hitting percentage and totaled 50 kills, seven aces, 36 digs and 6.5 total tema blocks. Purude hit .157 with 53 kills, three aces, 52 digs and 6.0 team blocks.
The Nittany Lions to a 4-1 lead to begin the match. The Boilermakers closed the gap to one, 8-7, but Penn State maintained the lead never letting Purdue tie it. Grant sparked a 6-2 run giving the Lions some breathing room, 17-12. After a Purdue timeout, a kill and an ace from the Boilermakers had Purdue within three, 17-14. Penn State responded with a 4-1 run for a 21-15 advantage forcing a second Boilermaker timeout. Despite a PSU service error, Penn State closed out the set with a 4-0 run, including kills from Scott and Courtney and a McClendon ace. Penn State won the set, 25-16.
The Boilermakers took a 6-0 lead to start the second frame. However, after a 5-1 run the Nittany Lions were within one, 11-10, by the midpoint of the set. Purdue called a timeout and used a 3-1 run to move ahead by three, 14-11. A block and a kill from Courtney had PSU within one, 14-13, but a 4-0 run by the Boilermakers had the Lions trailing by five, 18-13. Penn State used a timeout and moved within two, 19-17, after kills from Hancock, Scott and McClendon. Two PSU errors and a Purdue kill had the Boilermakers in front by give again, 22-17. As Purdue moved closer to winning the set, Penn State crept to within two, 24-22. It proved too little, too late as Kierra Jones pounded a kill for a 25-22 second set win. The match was tied at 1-1.
Despite falling behind 3-1, two straight Boilermaker errors had the score knotted at 3-3. A Purdue kill and a PSU error moved the Boilermakers back in front, 5-3, but Penn State capitalized on two blocks and an ace to tie it up at 7-7. A Purdue error had the Lions leading, 8-7. Purdue called a timeout and managed to tie it at 10 all. Back-to-back McClendon kills and a Purdue error gave Penn State a three-point cushion, 13-10. Purdue kept fighting and used two kills and a block to knot the score at 14-14. The score tied twice more before a Scott kill and a Purdue error have the Lions with a two-point edge, 18-16. Hancock made it a three-point lead with a kill, 19-16. After a kill from Purdue's Rachel Davis, another Hancock putdown, a Courtney ace and a Purdue attack error had Penn State leading by five, 22-17. Following a Purdue timeout, a 3-0 PSU run had the Lions at set point, 24-18. Anna Drewry pounded a final kill for Purdue before McClendon put one away for a 25-19 third set win.
Penn State went up 3-1 in set four, but a 5-1 run by the Boilermakers had Purdue on top, 6-4. Two Scott kills and one from Courtney had the set tied at 7-7. Two consecutive errors by PSU and a Purdue kills had the Boilermakers ahead by two, 10-8. Penn State capitalized on three straight Purdue errors for an 11-10 edge. The score tied two more times before Purdue moved in front by two, 14-12. The teams went back and forth until two Purdue errors and a Gonzalez ace had the Lions with a slim 17-16 lead. Purdue called a timeout and managed to tie it at 17-17, but Slay put down a kill to move PSU up by one, 18-17. A Penn State error allowed the Boilermakers to once again tie it, this time at 18-18, but a kill and an ace from Courtney had PSU leading by two, 20-18. Purdue called a timeout and tallied a point to be within one, 20-19. However, two Boilermaker errors had the Lions leading by three, 22-19. The Boilermakers came within two twice mor,e but Scott Closed out the set with a kill for a 25-21 triumph.
Penn State closes out the regular season at home with matches against Ohio State on Nov. 21 and Michigan State on Nov. 24. Wednesday's match is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday's match will begin at 8 p.m. Saturday's match is Senior Night.
For more information on the Penn State women's volleyball team, please visit GoPSUsports.com.' The Penn State women's volleyball 2012 season is presented by Rockvale Outlets.
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